Meaning & use
coordinate plane
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Meaning
nouncountablemathematics
A flat surface marked with a horizontal and a vertical number line, used to locate points by pairs of numbers.
Grammar: Countable: a coordinate plane, two coordinate planes; usually 'the coordinate plane' in math lessons.
Patterns
- on the coordinate plane
- plot something on a coordinate plane
- the coordinate plane is divided into four quadrants
Plot the point (3, -2) on the coordinate plane.
The teacher drew a coordinate plane on the board and asked us to mark three points.
On a coordinate plane, the two axes meet at the origin.
Word forms
| plural | coordinate planes |
|---|
Common combinations
- on the coordinate plane
- Every point on the coordinate plane has an x-value and a y-value.
- plot points on a coordinate plane
- Students learned to plot points on a coordinate plane.
- the origin of the coordinate plane
- Both axes cross at the origin of the coordinate plane.
- a coordinate plane with four quadrants
- The x-axis and y-axis divide the coordinate plane into four quadrants.
- graph something on a coordinate plane
- She graphed the equation on a coordinate plane.
Synonyms and how they differ
- Cartesian plane
- The formal mathematical name for the same surface, used more in higher-level textbooks.
- xy-plane
- A shorter, informal way to refer to the coordinate plane, common in algebra classes.
Word family
- coordinate noun
- One of the numbers that fixes a point's position.
- coordinate geometry noun
- The branch of math that uses coordinates to study shapes.
- coordinate axis noun
- One of the two number lines that form the plane.
Commonly confused: coordinate plane or coordinate? coordinate plane or plan?
coordinate plane vs coordinate
A coordinate is a single number or pair locating a point; the coordinate plane is the whole flat surface those points sit on.
coordinate plane vs plan
'Plane' (a flat surface) and 'plan' (an intention) sound similar but are unrelated in meaning.
Practice
To find the point (2, 5), you start at the origin of the ___ and move right, then up.
Choose one answer.
The coordinate plane is the surface on which points are located. A 'coordinate line' is only one axis, and 'coordinate point' is not a standard term for the whole surface.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “coordinate plane”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.